Brutal workouts put Texas high school football players in hospital, district says

A high school football coach has been placed on administrative leave after an offseason workout program resulted in some players being hospitalized, a Texas school district said.

Rockwall-Heath High School principal Todd Bradford said in a letter to parents that student-athletes were required to perform multiple push-ups during an athletics class with head football coach John Harrell on Friday, Jan. 6.

Harrell made the players do more than 300 push-ups in a 60-minute span as a part of the workout, according to WFAA and The Dallas Morning News.

School officials learned on Monday, Jan. 9, that some student-athletes needed medical attention and others required hospital care, Bradford said in the letter to parents obtained by McClatchy News. It’s unclear exactly how many were hospitalized.

The principal said the school district is addressing the situation and has retained a third-party to investigate “any connection between the activities in class and student illnesses.”

“The district is also taking interim action, including but not limited to, placing Coach Harrell on administrative leave while the investigation is pending and notifying appropriate outside agencies,” Bradford told parents. “District administrators and campus personnel have been in contact with the affected families and student-athletes.”

The Dallas Morning News and WFAA reported that some of the football players were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition that results when “damaged or injured skeletal muscle” dissolves into the bloodstream, potentially causing heart and kidney damage, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Strenuous exercise is one common cause for the condition, the federal organization said.

The principal’s letter said the campus trainer would be monitoring students for sharp arm pain, dark urine, or if they were unable to bend, extend or lift their arms.

Harrell was named the head football coach for the Dallas-Fort Worth area high school in January 2022. He was an assistant coach at the school in the previous three seasons.

His previous coaching roles in Texas were at schools in Stephenville, Midlothian and in the Garland Independent School District, according to the Rockwall County Herald-Banner.

Harrell has not publicly commented on the situation. No charges have been filed.

“Student safety is a top priority for Rockwall ISD and we will continue to take immediate and appropriate measures in the best interests of our students as we address this situation,” the principal said in the letter to parents.

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